The Boy in the Box

The following short essay about one of Philadelphia’s most haunting unsolved crimes first appeared in an issue of The Black Hood comic book by Duane Swierczynski, published by Dark Circle Comics under the watchful eye of editor Alex Segura. It also appears in my book The Throes of Crime.

Following the essay is a link to a new report about the case from reporter Claudia Vargas at NBC10 in Philadelphia.

The Boy in the Box
by Erik Arneson

For a terrible week in the late winter of 1957, two stories dominated the Philadelphia Inquirer’s front page: a missing four-year-old girl and a dead, unidentified boy in a cardboard box.

The girl, Mary Jane Barker, was found dead six days after disappearing. Police concluded she locked herself in a closet while playing in an empty house near her home.

The boy, four to six years old, has remained unidentified for nearly six decades.

Tonight! Online! Reading a Short Story with MWA-NY

Tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern U.S. time, the Mystery Writers of America New York Chapter is hosting a terrific online reading event!

You can watch live on the MWA-NY Facebook page or the MWA-NY YouTube page.

Authors who will be reading include Nancy Bilyeau, Suzanne Chazin, Jane Kelly, Lanny Larcinese, Jeff Markowitz, Erica Obey, and Camilla Trinchieri.

I’ll be there, too, reading a story from my collection The Throes of Crime.

Remember, the show kicks off at 6:00 p.m. eastern U.S. time. And you can watch live on the MWA-NY Facebook page or the MWA-NY YouTube page.

Authors are reading in alphabetical order — which means I’m up first. Hope you can join us!

The Throes of Crime – $0.99 for a Limited Time

Happy Black Friday! The Kindle edition of my short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME is on sale for 99 cents! (That’s 80% off, and less than 4 cents per short story.)

On Tuesday, the price increases to $2.99 and then it goes back to $4.99 one week from today.

So get it while the getting’s good:

THE THROES OF CRIME for Kindle

If you prefer a hard copy, THE THROES OF CRIME paperback is available for $9.99 — and you’ll get the Kindle version absolutely free with Amazon’s MatchBook program.

All proceeds from THE THROES OF CRIME benefit the James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Enjoy!

The Throes of Crime, Government & Board Games

My buddy Christopher Irvin recently asked me a bunch of questions about THE THROES OF CRIME, government, board games, and much more.

Read the full interview here.

(Spoiler alert: My current favorite board game is pictured to the right.)

You can also check out Chris’s books: SAFE INSIDE THE VIOLENCE, BURN CARDS, and FEDERALES.

Interviewed by Spinetingler Mag

Sandra Ruttan at Spinetingler Magazine recently took some time to ask me a few questions about my short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME, my adventures in play-by-mail professional wrestling simulations, fleeing the country, and much more!

Read the entire interview here.

Huge thanks to Sandra and Spinetingler for inviting me to answer!

How to Organize a Short Story Collection

Working on my short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME, one of the things I didn’t think much about at first was the order the stories would appear in. I only started paying attention as the publication date grew close.

I tried to put the stories in a sensible order, considering things like theme, pacing, setting, and recurring characters. Whether or not I succeeded is, of course, up to each reader to decide, but here are some of the resources I consulted to at least develop a strategy.

Storyville: Tips on Putting Together a Short Story Collection by Richard Thomas

How Should You Order A Short Story Collection? by Nathan S. McNamara

Ten Tips for Organizing a Short Story Collection by John Fox

Organising a Story Collection by Tim Love

How Dillon Samuelson Created the Cover Image for The Throes of Crime

Artist Dillon Samuelson (website, Tumblr, Behance) and I first collaborated on the comic book FORTUNE. (You can get a copy of FORTUNE — print, electronic, or free PDF — here.)

Next, Dillon produced an amazing cover for my short story ALL ALONE.

Now he’s created an incredible image for the cover of my first book, a short story collection titled THE THROES OF CRIME.

Dillon and I went through several cover ideas before arriving at the final version. I enjoyed the process; collaborating with Dillon is always a great experience. I recently talked to him about the techniques he used to develop the cover for THE THROES OF CRIME.

Let’s start with the final image. What kind of materials did you use to create it?

The final image ended up being a mixture of relief print and drawing done primarily with black and white ink and acrylic paint, with bits of pen for the colors in the bullet and tear.

Originally, I thought I wanted a woodcut version of a chalk body outline. You did some work on that, but pretty quickly I decided that image was too simple. Did you agree?

I liked the idea of a body outline primarily because of its simplicity to make: when you pitched the idea I figured it would be relatively quick and an easy subject to draw. I don’t mind simple iconic images for covers, but I agree just the body outline started to feel boring next to some of the other possibilities.

Next, we tried to add some details to the chalk body outline — woodcut-style designs inside the outline, some blood, etc. What did you think of those ideas?

I was not a fan of the abstract patterns we considered, but I liked the idea of incorporating another image into the outline and think the layering of images had an interesting effect.

What materials did you use to create those early images?

The preliminary drawings were done with ink. Sometimes just a pen sketch, but often I would also go into black areas of ink with a whiteout pen to recreate the reductive process of carving a woodblock.

One of the images was a skull behind the chalk body outline with blood coming out of the skull’s eye — which happened to be where the body’s chest was. That was too busy, I think, but it got us to focus on the skull instead of the chalk outline. Were you happy with the move from the chalk outline to the skull?

That particular idea was my favorite from the preliminary pieces, but I agree with it being too busy. It lost the graphic punch of a single icon and became confusing from a distance – and may have become even more so as a carving.

The skull — with great input from you and my wife — then evolved to “smile” a little more, get the gold bullet tooth, and have the blood take the form of a teardrop. Are you pleased with the final image?

I am pleased. This is the first relief print I’ve made in years, and while it ended up being more a mixed-media drawing, it was fun experimenting with the medium again. The addition of the bullet and tear give it a good pop of color and add some uniqueness to the classic skull.

THE THROES OF CRIME is now available in ebook and paperback.

The Throes of Crime – Available Now

The paperback version of THE THROES OF CRIME is now available! (The ebook is coming soon.)

UPDATE (10/17): The ebook is out now, too!

It includes 26 short stories and six true-crime essays. The stories collected here have been published by places like Thuglit, Needle, Otto Penzler’s Kwik Krimes, Akashic Books’ Mondays Are Murder, and Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine. There are also seven brand new stories!

Here’s what some great folks have said about THE THROES OF CRIME:

“Dark, depraved and wickedly funny, THE THROES OF CRIME is a showcase for Erik Arneson’s remarkable versatility. Equally at home in dusty western saloons and gritty Cold War Leningrad as he is among crooked present-day politicians, hapless cons, and the occasional murderous orangutan, Arneson’s snappy, clever tales are enriched immeasurably by his keen eye for detail and atmosphere. A thoroughly enjoyable read.” ~OWEN LAUKKANEN, author of THE WATCHER IN THE WALL

“These stories are bite-sized, delicious, and full of surprises. Bitter, sweet, sometimes even salty, you never know what you’re going to get. But unlike life, this anthology never disappoints. And unlike a box of chocolates, there are no jellies.” ~JON McGORAN, author of DEAD OUT

“These stories cover the gamut from subtle and thought-provoking to action-packed and jaw-breaking, but all are told with elegance and served with Arneson’s signature satisfying, often disturbing twists. If you have a wickedly dark sense of humor and an appreciation for the deeply ironic, these stories are for you.” ~MERRY JONES, author of THE TROUBLE WITH CHARLIE

“It’s not a crime I care if my friend falls. Blow out the candle so I won’t have to look at this thing at all. Who would’ve guessed when my partner Harry Evans penned this lyric, that 25 years later our friend Erik Arneson would inject titles of some of our tunes into his mini masterpieces. We are humbled. Sun shines over cloudy worlds.” ~BILL CAMPBELL, lead singer of THE THROES

“I play drums. I write songs. I consider myself to be a hack at best. But somehow I have inspired Erik to write truly good stories. This collection is impressive and compelling and I am honored that I had some small part in its creation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.” ~HARRY EVANS, drummer for THE THROES

All proceeds from THE THROES OF CRIME benefit the James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support to graduates of Wilmot High School in Wilmot, South Dakota, who display an aptitude in creative writing by authoring a short story. The goal of the scholarship is to encourage students from Wilmot to continue writing fiction well beyond high school, to tell the stories that only they can tell. Powerful stories and funny stories and magical stories – stories the world is waiting for, even if it doesn’t realize it just yet.

I hope you enjoy the book!

By the way, the incredible cover art was created by Dillon Samuelson. I’ll post an interview with Dillon, discussing the process that led to this illustration, soon.

Interrogated by S.W. Lauden

Author S.W. Lauden recently interrogated me about my upcoming short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME, short fiction in general, and more. We even touch a bit on board games.

Read it here: Interrogation – Erik Arneson

S.W.’s writing is excellent. Check out his books GRIZZLY SEASON, BAD CITIZEN CORPORATION, and CROSSWISE.

The Throes of Crime – Coming Soon

My first book, THE THROES OF CRIME (a short story collection), is scheduled to be released in October!

The skull (how cool is that skull?) was created by artist Dillon Samuelson. When the book is released, I’ll post an interview with Dillon about the process of creating it.